The fate of the galaxy
by Yaklord
Summary: character generation that will likely become a multichapter story later..from a table top that im currently involved in.


A vast spiral galaxy...a trillion worlds. With one voice they cry out in pain and suffering as the worlds of a billion stars are depleted of resources, their inhabitants enslaved; the very hearts of their worlds devoured by a powerful race of machines. The Multidroids spread like locusts across the universe feasting upon the very souls of every race and drinking the very life of each planet they touch….

The cameras on the screen pan up as the invaders retreat and fall back to their ships. As they ascend into the atmosphere the sky seems to be filled with rage as massive clouds of poisoned noxious fumes coalesce. Bolts of purple and red flash across the sky and blast the ground as the black thick rain pours from them onto the cities of the world pitting and melting every marker of civilization like a sand castle in a deluge. On another camera more horror is shown as the camera blinks out briefly from a flash and an angry howling wind is heard followed by the sound of a clap of thunder so loud it must be the very ground ripping itself apart. The view of the landscape appears to have been scraped clean off the planet's surface as massive tornadoes sweep the countryside and the camera falls to static. The film then shows many other disasters: earthquakes, tornadoes, and large pools of waste and toxic sludge ooze from the ground as the very stone of the planet decays and sinks within it, lakes set aflame by lightning strike, a planet besieged by fire and acid. One by one each camera dies....

The computer then relates that the outside temperature drops dramatically and reaches 2.275 Kelvin. Thousands of bipedal creatures rush for bunkers and buildings...only to be frozen solid within minutes. Becoming statue monuments, their faces forever frozen with the horror of their dying world. Others inside bunkers are shown from the video to be donning suits of protective armor only to become melting plastic toy soldiers, as the floors and halls of their civilizations twist and slide away like water off glass as the cesspools rise from below.

My eyes flash and I am born of silica and steel, brought to light by the fires of the forge. The horrid visions of the plague of the Multidroids linger, still burning within my processor. The computer flickers and slowly dies away as the last contents of its files are uploaded to my memory cores...and I am alone

My name is R2-F8 production run GAL-XC . I was manufactured on a swampy colony world on the fringes of my civilization. We were a machine race of beings that were ruthless in our conquering of other species. We dominated them by trading technology for freedoms, slowly enslaving them to do our bidding. It was us who raped their worlds, sifting the last grain of every resource from the face of the planet. We bred the fleshlings for labor euthanizing free thought and education. Then finally we drank deep of the energy wells within the very core of their planets. Rendering it a soulless, life starved, and desiccated reliquiae. We would then leave the planet having nothing left to gain, as we watched the final remnants of the native inhabitants draw their last breaths and die along with their stricken world.

This was the way of things for millennia. On and on it went, the cycle of destruction only to power our desires and advance our hold on the galaxies. On the day of my activation the facility had lost contact with our hosts and we were left to our own devices. This turn of events was spurred by the unseasonably cold weather we were getting on the swamp world of Remming. The factory was completely automated and is programmed to shut down should a breach of communication occur. This is to prevent any of us from being "free minded", we would all be of one mind and one host.

This failed to happen, and I was born of nothingness. The facility released me prematurely and I was unable to get far. I scavenged what I could from the parts and cores of the others who were yet to be brought to light. It was enough to survive, and only just barely. I was shocked and appalled at the wanton destruction of all the other races the countless trillions of lives that were wasted to power our needs and wants. What I had determined that day was to rid myself of that cycle of destruction, to be on the side of the just, to uphold the weak and play sidekick to the underdog.

According to the telemetry computers the planet was dying, much the same way all the other planets my race had touched were. The core of the planet had dried up…the thermal energy within its latent bonds was no more and the world was freezing over and soon would stop spinning, the gravity well would collapse and the atmosphere would crumble and vent into space. I needed to get off before the energy was completely gone and the factory would be made useless to me. I had launched a distress beacon into the atmosphere of the rapidly freezing world. The swamp becomes a black polluted sea of ice. The devastated landscape of hewn trees becomes nothing more than a lifeless and bleak snowy hell.

It wasn't till one planet year later…the facility on emergency minimal power only, and an unworldly ion storm had consumed the planet that a ship finally arrived. A man of a race I had recalled from the computer banks as being Kel Dor stepped out. He was not much to look at, quite hideous really but from my standpoint any fleshling would have been horrendous to look at. He pulled out a small box and a scan signal burst through the air like a shockwave. It would probably have been better for me to just announce my presence but I didn't want the fleshling to find me in my current state. I had no idea if he had heard my call for help or if the Multidroid Swarms had sent him. It was my intention to sneak aboard his ship and scour the place for technology that I might store some of my systems into and link with his ship to leave him stranded. That plan did not however manifest. I had detected that my rescuer had doubled back and was on his way back to his ship. What had he seen? How far into the factory did he go? What would he do if he found me? All these questions I couldn't answer nor did I have the time, I grabbed one of the other machines I had found on board his ship and exited quickly into the shadows and read the droids memory core…attempting to learn everything I could from it. The technology was foreign and very limited based on my current level of advancement. However, I had to work with what I had on hand so I had gathered all the information about this droids function and its apparent master. The process was almost complete when the ion storm over head began to throw lightning bolts to the ground and the fleshling dove aboard his ship and began to power it up for planetary escape. I quickly finished what I was doing and pulled myself aboard his ship. Sadly the other droid was left behind, and the quickly severed link severely damaged its frail processor. I had to note that these droids were far inferior to myself even in my current patchwork state.

As we had left the planet I could feel the hum of the energy and technology around me. This would do nicely, I could infest the ship, become one with it and the fleshling would never know. Though I didn't know how to make my move, he occupied the bridge and I needed to access the main computer core. I took a chance and pulled a weapon from a locker and made my way to the forward cockpit. I saw the creature, leveled the weapon and held it steady. Strangely he turned around and spoke.

"So there was something on that planet after all…" He just stated it so flatly, you'd never know somebody had a gun on him. He looked completely unphased as he busied himself about the cabin poking buttons, turning knobs, and flipping switches. "Well, welcome aboard, my name is Xion Rhu. Now if you don't mind could you please put the rifle down so I can finish jumping to hyperspace, it's a little tricky." I watched in wonder as this creature was seemingly incapable of fear. I stepped aside not lowering the weapon but allowing him enough space to do his work. I wondered about the inefficiency of the manner of these things however I didn't ask any questions I just kept my focus on the fleshling. He busied himself about his Loronar B-7 light freighter like a man possessed. "It takes a bit to pilot this tub by myself but it can be done. You see this ship 'the ladies own' has history behind it, it was my grand fathers and then was passed down the line to myself. She has a few quirks that have some getting past, such as once you start the process to jump you need to finish in a timely manner or the computer dumps the trajectory notes and then has to calculate the whole process again. This is due to the fact that it's an older system and hasn't been upgraded yet. I've always meant to get to it but it has been just one thing after another lately." He glances at me holding the weapon leveled at his mid section and then goes back to work with a sigh. "That being said, have you seen my astromech droid?" He glances about the cockpit and storms off down the halls looking for the lost droid. It dawns on me that this 'astromech' droid of his could very well be the droid I accidentally destroyed.

My voice cuts through the space between us like a sword, and he whips about as if a snake grabbed his shoulder. "If it was a small dome shell of a thing then yes, sadly I think I may have accidentally destroyed its processor". My voice is mechanical and harsh as I had only found a vocabulator and no proper humanoid voice program to go with it. He looks at me incredulously and his facial features twist into what I perceived as a smile. He said nothing at this point and just slid past me and back to the bridge and sat down and pulled on some levers and we leaped into the stars. The vastness of space peeled back and each star we passed became a ray of light as we whooshed by. Until this point in my life I had only thought what it would be like to see such a thing. It was awe inspiring to say the least then Xion spoke again.

"Are you still going to hold that rifle like that or are you going to sit down and make yourself comfortable?" What a ridiculous question! I was going to assassinate him and take his ship and all that he owned. I was going to end his grandfather's legacy by taking the ship apart a piece at a time so that I might upgrade my own person. However, here he was asking me to put down the carbine and sit with him. "Please sit, I know my mandibles are menacing but trust me, I don't bite. At least I don't eat aliens. Speaking of which, what are you? You look bipedal but it's almost as if you are slightly transparent. If I look at you just right I can see a large orb hovering in your center with several smaller orbs floating about it and the rest of you seems hollow". This made me a bit uneasy as I suddenly felt vulnerable. What did he see in that factory? What did he know of my people? It was here that I realized that I had lost the element of surprise, if I ever really had it at all. So I lowered the carbine and sat with him.

"I do not as of yet have a name, I was manufactured as a GAL-XC model of scout, infiltration drone. However my programming and functionality were incomplete as I was brought to light under unusual circumstances. I was forced to cannibalize the rest of the production models that were on the assembly line near to finish so that I might function with some semblance of entirety". I had paused to see what his reaction would be and again, I saw very little disturbance on his face as he contemplated what I had just told him and so I continued. "I am a solitary mass which has the ability to hover much like a repulsor lift or other such technology. I am indeed spherical in nature. It is harder to shoot a sphere than an object with corners or discernable faces. This means that if you were to shoot my arms or legs or even my head you would not harm me much at all. This is due to the fact that my species had developed a type of holotech that projected a form of solid cohesive light. This solid cohesive light we call 'hollow' light, it's cohesive in nature but it is not hot or focused like a laser beam. It is not unlike the deflector shields you use to protect your ship as comparison. However, this projection allows us to pick up and utilize the environment around us much like you use hands or tools. As a defensive measure to protect our inner selves we had designed this light to be opaque and have color much like real armor that you fleshlings would wear. Much like a shield projector the physical projection of myself, acts similarly. If shot or damaged in some way it would soak the blast with minimal damage to myself, this is not to say that it takes its toll if I am hit numerous times. Such as if I were to shoot at your ships shields, eventually they would buckle and collapse. It is much the same with me. However, as the shell gets weaker it gets more and more transparent until it flickers away and only my inner self remains. This inner self is my housing, it contains all my main functions as well as my processor, energy supply, holoprojectors, and repulsor streams. The smaller spheres that orbit me are called cores or hollow tools. These orbs are attachments that when they enter my magnetic field are held in orbit, 'read' like a schematic, and then projected into my main image. These things could be any number of items from tools, and scanners, all the way to extra shielding and weapons. I came with my primary core which was a wrist attachment that contains a comlink, portable computer with 5 units of free memory, and a computer interface probe. I had stolen two more cores from other units who were not brought to light but finished. These include a mechanics tool kit, and a security kit". I had continued on describing my race and what they had done throughout the millennia. He had stated that he had never heard of, nor seen one before today. Xion Rhu proved to be unflappable. He only nodded his understanding as I related my story and then again welcomed me aboard when I had finished. He then explained the current history of the universe. How droids were viewed and my new lot in life as I was to replace the droid that I had inherently disabled and left for dead. I was starting to wonder how long the computer was out of communication before I was brought to light. While working with Xion, I had found the man had tremendous luck. He claimed that lady luck took care of the devils chosen. I did not know of this devil but Xion tells me of a powerful entity which decides the fate of all people with questionable scruples. So in turn I had wondered about my plight and if lady luck indeed did look after me as Xion had taken me aboard and taught me his trade of gambling, smuggling, and slicing. Xion was an exceptional and very well known gambler. He made quite the credit when he sat down to a game. Bet on the sure thing when playing cards, or any game of skill. Always bet the underdog when it comes to random "chaos effect" such as racing, usually the pit knows who is best and slides the odds against them to rake in more money when they win off the suckers don't be fooled. I learned what I could about his method of gambling and learned to calculate the odds and slide the errors into my favor.

Xion like all men of his plied trade eventually ran afoul the hardened and bloodthirsty Huts. He was captured on a remote planet called Aalderan, It was a lush peaceful world which we thought would be an excellent hiding place. This however was not true, I had eluded capture and taken 'The Ladies Own' and fled hoping to return for him eventually. I had started gathering up as much information as I could. While doing so however, I was met with some strange information about a battle plan to destroy the Jedi temple. Learning that the Jedi were the self named police force of the galaxy and that they had strange powers I was interested. I had stumbled on a plot for government upheaval and a coup. This group called themselves 'the sith'. Still new to all of this and only having been traveling with Xion for going on four years now I started asking questions. Sadly I had asked too many questions, I had eventually picked up sniffers and trailers of all sorts. These people had also found out about my nature as a droid from a higher civilization and coveted my technologies. I ran for five years trying to cover my tracks as well as free Xion from the Huts at the same time. Neither task was easy and thus both had ended in almost abysmal failure. It was then that I had turned to this devil and his lady luck that Xion put so much praise in and went to a shrine and gave offerings not really knowing what I was doing but it seemed right. At this shrine one of the acolytes over heard my lamentation and whispered to a few people in robes standing in the wings. I was approached and requested to join them in the alley. (dear reader please read this as I was bushwhacked and pulled into the alley. you see being comprised mostly of light I am not that heavy and when surprised can be picked up with relative ease). I was told that I should join the republic resistance, I still had very little idea what any of this was about. However if they were the republic resistance then they could offer me protection and the safety I needed to lose the people hunting me and perhaps buy me enough time to free Xion. I had decided to bet. I told them of my companion and that we worked as a team, unconditionally. I told them he was being held by the Huts and that he was to be freed if I joined them in their fight. They agreed to my terms, and had paid the bounty for his release.

He was not well taken care of by the Huts during his stay with them and had become ill. I had told him to flee to his home world and that I would 'manage his affairs' in his absence. He agreed, and left for Dorin aboard his ship. Needing a partner to fulfill my bargain with the republic resistance, or if nothing else to continue to hide my true nature. I had sent word to Xion that I was at a loss in this strange place and that I would need a companion. He sent me a human friend of his named Duncan. Duncan was a drunk, drifter, and otherwise completely unsavory fellow. He was handsome however and knew it. His trade was that of information and politics, he knew well how to use the Bothan spy net and how to get around red tape of all sorts. Xion had told me this kind of person would do well for me as a companion in my new role in the universe. Xion had also sent me a few credits, I had applied what Xion had taught me and managed to get a small craft, not much more than a small two man fighter but it was enough to start with.

I had run guns, ammo, information, dignitaries, and helped the republic resistance in its efforts to organize a proper fight against the rising tide. We used an independent and impartial company to move our goods. In keeping our costs low and making sure we can trust those around us we were hired on as escorts aboard the transport vessels. This company was owned by an alnarian by the name of Parrakka. Unbeknownst to ourselves Parraka's grandson was in league with pirates affiliated with the trade federation and had intended to raid our caravan. It was myself, Duncan, and a human rebel soldier by the name of Fritz, his brother Seth, and two twiliks named Garamboo and his sister Slein. Barlo-Rohan-Moneu was a secure freight trucker. I had met her originally working for a security shipping detail teaching Sen-Ru-Moneu her son to pilot at the tender age of four. On this particular trip we were attacked by some trade federation droid assault fighters and a few fleshlings that had been launched from a large freight barge. They attacked and boarded us. We were subdued and held captive, bound and tortured. The young Sen-Ru not noticed had escaped capture and managed to slip undetected to the bridge which allowed him to fire a ship board weapon at point blank range as our cargo was to be offloaded onto the large freighter. I had dropped my hollow shell temporarily and managed to get free of the bonds since I no longer had hands and feet and then after reengaging my shell I untied the rest and took advantage of the distracted guards killing them all.

During my long service to them, my parts had begun to wear old. I had taken some irreparable damage during one fire fight that broke out in a bar. I needed to travel back to my abandoned world and reclaim the factory. I had thought with the power generated from my ship I might be able to craft more cores for myself and thus end this misery of using hard hand held tools and weapons. It was not until I was nineteen that I was able to slip past that end of the galaxy. Duncan had spent us dry on many an occasion and drank our last credit on almost every occasion. This was on top of the fact that the republic resistance continued to call on us at every turn.

I had volunteered for an elongated battle in the sector that held my squashed abandoned world. Taking to the skies and assaulting a battle group we had taken heavy losses but managed to succeed in our task. Neutralize the battle cruisers, and hijack the convoy of transports moving fighters, weapons and supplies. This cost us dearly in man power almost a third of our group was destroyed. In turn though, we had managed to capture two battle cruisers, and three quarters of the convoy intact. This was a great victory for the rebellion. I had slipped away as victory was eminent and followed a crashing battle cruiser to the face of my planet.

Sadly lady luck apparently did not like my colleague who abused the gifts she bestowed upon us. The huge bulk of the ship landed directly on the manufacturing wing of the factory, decimating it. The lifeless planet was inhospitable to Duncan and thus I had to leave him aboard ship. I searched about and found nothing of value, the manufacturing bay was destroyed. The main computer was offline and was heavily damaged in the subsequent explosions from the battle cruiser. The whole factory was shut down. Perhaps with time and effort repairs could be made but not on my own and certainly not with the lack of technologies. Since I was on planet I had gathered up the remains of the droid I had left so many years ago. Its hull had been frozen in place by the years of planetary degradation. Xion would be pleased that I had retrieved his astromech droid. Leaving the planet and rejoining the group I had traveled back to the remote world of Aalderan and began my preparations to depart service of the republic resistance "to put my affairs in order". My new companion had done something silly again. He had sold our ship in order to sleep with an entire brothel and drink himself into a horrendous stupor. I sighed as hope left me and I wondered if he was even worth his weight or my time. On the way to sober him up we were assaulted by a group of heavily armed men. Myself without much in the way of defense against such a force and my beleaguered companion I was quick to surrender. The terrorists tortured us relentlessly. Through this torture they had discovered my true nature and threw me into an Ion burst chamber. The torture had killed my companion. As soon as he died and gave up the secrets they so desperately wanted they had arranged for a trade of myself for one of their high ranking officials. As the deal took place the bunker was stormed and the terrorists were killed.

I was dilapidated and two of my three cores were beyond repair. My holoprojectors only worked at 25% capacity and my shell kept collapsing. Worst yet, my power center was evaporating through a crack in its microstructure and I would slowly power down and become no more. I was in serious need of repairs but those repairs were not going to come. My race had abandoned me, quite possibly left the galaxy to torment another richer one. I had sent Xion Rhu a message that I was in dire straits and that the republic resistance would keep my secret. I had no salvageable technologies to give them but through my loyal service I was granted clemency to my well guarded secret. I was broken and dying and thus I was to return to him on Dorin. Barlo-Rohan-Moneu, the freighter pilot that I had flown with on many of my shipping runs with the republic resistance had offered to take me there. She and her son had traveled with me and learning of my secret. I had slowly recounted my tale to them along the journey hoping that I would be able to finish my journey and see my long lost friend. The young Sen-Ru watched over me and listened to my story as my shell fluctuated off and on. I told the tale of 'ghost' the android that never was, how I came to be, and how I had gotten this far. I recounted my story as if the young boy was going to remember it and write it all down. I was honestly telling the boy because I was the last of my race and I wanted to be remembered, perhaps this young lad would remember me after all. One could never know.

I had made it to Dorin intact and still functioning, though I was not sure of how much time I actually had left. Xion had recovered and was doing quite well. He was very happy and excited to see me again and had told me he received the gift and that it was very thoughtful of me and that he had a surprise for me in return. He had refitted the droid that I had returned to him and explained to me that the processor was still blank. If it were my wish I could transfer myself to the new shell and rejoin galactic society. I had agreed, it was either that or perish where I stood. Unbeknownst to me at the time this process would not be easy. The heuristic processor of the droid was very limited and the shell was confining. Too much hard circuitry and not enough smooth nanotech. As I was completing the process the new body shook violently and power arced from the power its power core as I crammed my knowledge and primary functions into the new chip. The ionic bolts of electricity that coursed over my new body scored my very hull and imprinted an etching of a spiral arm galaxy, small yet detailed and colored.

He was amazed at this phenomenon and I was again born to light through a flash of my eyes. Looking down on my old shell, indeed I did perceive the very same tattoo. A brand of my people a mark of my production line, even when the part was painted or replaced the tattoo would burn through like an acid and remain for all to see in full color. My good friend looked at me and patted my new hull, "You are now R2-F8, of the production run GAL-XC". He stated that it would only be fitting that if this droid were to be remade that it should go by the next lettering of its serial code. The original droid was R2-F7, he had contacted Industrial Automaton and purchased the licensing for the serial code so that it would not be used by the company. I was astonished that my name be 'Fate of the galaxy' and he too was bemused at the idea. He decided to set me free, it was his feeling that I had been destined for great things and would only be held back by staying with him. I had responded that I was always free, I was just in his debt. After all he did pull me off that dying back water world and save me from a cold existence that would have only ended in my demise. Xion had told me that he had a contact friend on the core world of Kuat. He would send me there as a production droid, and that I had all the tools I would need to do the job, right down to a micro power core that allowed me not to rest like other droids. The young Sen-Ru and his mother took me to Xion's contact and I began work for Kuat Drive Yards producing starship hulls and equipment as a design and production engineer.


End file.
